Where Are They Now: Brian Sears

Brian Sears graduated from Grafton High School in 2010 where he played golf for the Indians all four years. While at Grafton, Sears played baseball for two years before deciding in his junior year that he would focus on his golf game going forward. His decision paid off and in his senior year he was named team captain and qualified for Division III States where he went on to tie for sixth out of 100 golfers.

When it came time to graduate, Sears took his love for golf and passion for knowledge to Nichols College, passing up Anna Marie College because he truly wanted to go to a small school that had bearable class sizes. On the green, Sears struggled early, but rebounded quickly, helping the Bison get to The Commonwealth Conference Championship (TCCC). Sears was selected to compete in TCCC play and shot a 78, helping Nichols to a victory over ten colleges.

Sears gives credit for his love of golf to his grandfather, who he says bought him his first set of plastic clubs at an early age. He begun golfing at the age of eight and hasn’t stopped since. Sears is majoring in sports management and is hoping to one day get his PGA card at Myrtle Beach. In his down time he likes climbing rocks as a member of the Rock Climbing Club, hanging out with friends and family from home and studying.

Favorite food: Meatball Pizza

Favorite band or genre of music: House music—electro and techno.

What’s on your iPod right now? Mainly DeadMau5e.

If you were to play golf with any professional golfer, who would it be and why?

I’d have to go with Phil Mickelson because I hear he has an awesome personality and I would love talking to him about golf and his career for 18 holes.

What have you been up to since graduating from Grafton High School just last year?

After I graduated high school I was basically focusing on golf because I knew I was going to play for the team, so I was working at Highfields Golf and Country Club in Grafton. I wanted to practice for golf because I knew college golf was much different than high school golf; people are much better than in high school. In high school golf, I probably faced ten people that were as equally good as me, so I needed to practice because I knew college was tougher than high school. So I just focused on golf during the summer until school started.

How did the golf season go for you this past fall?

The first tournament I played in I did horrible. I was just nervous because it was my first college tournament. I shot an 86 both days and that was one of my worst rounds. My coach immediately put me back on the B-team and I needed to find my way back to the starting traveling team. I remember one B-match I shot a 79 and he took me to another tournament at the Elms and I tied for second out of 80 people individually; that was a good day.

At the Captains Course for the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association Championship (NEIGA) I shot my two worst rounds I ever had and my coach talked to me and he said, “You know what, you just had a bad weekend.” That same Thursday was The Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship and he (coach Al Kubicki) just kept me throughout because we played that course before—I believe I shot a 78—so he knew I was capable of breaking 80 on that course and I shot another 78 and we ended up winning the championship. But coach Kubicki really believed in me because I shot a good score before that and to put me back out there again, I really think that was my main success. We ended up winning TCCC over ten teams.

It seems like you’ve had some ups and downs this season…what are the differences between golf at the high school level and golf at the collegiate level?

I remember in the SWCL (Southern Worcester County League), I was paired up in that first group, which had about eight people, and I looked at all the players and they were the best players in our whole league because of the level they were playing at. Basically, I was thinking “there are eight people who are equal or better than me.”

In college, my first competition on my first weekend, I just remember just seeing all these players shooting 72s, 73s and I’m like, this is not high school golf anymore, I really need to step up my game. Basically in high school, I was the top guy, and in college I felt like I was on the bottom of the totem pole. I just needed to get my confidence back—and I did—and I actually ended up having a good season.

What made you choose Nichols College and where else were you looking to go to pursue your education and love for golf?

Nichols had a great business program from what I was told by my business teacher in high school and my best friend's father. They all told me it was an awesome school to go to for business.

I was also being scouted by Anna Marie for golf, but I liked Nichols much more because it’s a small school and my brother went to a big school and I didn’t really like that environment and I wanted teachers to know me in case I was having any problems. There are only 25 kids in a class instead of having 300 kids in a class, so the teacher gets to know you better. So I like that about Nichols, but also just being a small campus.

Do you have any favorite moments from Grafton High School, whether on or off the green?

The greatest moment in golf was when I qualified for the State Championship as a senior and I was the only person on my team to qualify. I went on to tie for sixth out of 100 people for the whole state for Division III. Also, my coach promoted me to captain my senior year, giving me the leadership and responsibility for the team.

When did you first start playing golf and was there someone who influenced you towards the sport?

I had a golf club in my hand since I started walking. My grandfather bought me those little plastic golf clubs and I really started playing around age eight. I was usually playing three sports when I was growing up: soccer, baseball and golf. So golf was just a weekend thing, like after church on Sunday we would go out to Westborough Country Club, play a round of golf and just sit back and watch the Patriots after. I stopped playing soccer in high school because it was either soccer or golf and I had more fun playing golf. I also stopped playing baseball my junior year to focus on the sport.